The Proclaimers

It's a long way from Belfast to The Birchmere, but having been a Proclaimers fan since the beginning and not having seen them in concert in about 15 years, I was not going to pass up the opportunity to see them in the US, midweek or not. I had deliberately avoided buying the new Dogs CD until the night so as not to spoil the novelty of hearing the new stuff live for the first time, and we were not disappointed. The set list was a veritable history of the boys, from This Is The Story through to In My Room, a classic and personal highlight of the night. The Birchmere itself is a great venue, well managed with a ticketed entry system that rewards the earliest arrivals with first dibs on the best seats, and we were stage left, plus the opportunity to get a great feed at your table before the show.

I came for the opening act.. which didn't go on. So I stayed for the show anyway, and was happy I did. Great rhythm and beats were enjoyed in this Scottish influenced music. I only knew one song of theirs, but upon hearing some of it, I went home to look up more of their work. Personally, I could understand little of the lyrics or the talking between songs.

Haven't had that much fun at a concert in a long time. Lots of clapping, foot tapping and singing along!

McPhillips Street Station Casino turned out to be the best venue to sit back and enjoy the Proclaimers! It was intimate enough to see and hear them yet big enough to get lost in the crowd singing and dancing along. The guys kept the show moving with back to back to back hits, old and new.